AVGN Adventures is a funny, but blisteringly difficult tribute that haphazardly bounces between challenging and cheap.
The story of AVGN Adventures follows the titular Angry Video Game Nerd being dragged into his television by a mechanical arm (a blatant reference to Cheetahmen, a game The Nerd played) with his friends being kidnapped. It's up to The Nerd and his trusty Zapper to rescue his friends and escape the clutches of his gaming prison. If you've kept up with the series, you'll find a number of exceptionally integrated references to Rolfe's show. From the "horrible night to have a curse" line straight out of Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest to flying bird enemies that attack by dropping mounds of poop, The Nerd's venture through Gameland is something of quirky respect for the series as a whole (there's even a pitch-perfect joke about the Super Pitfall episode at the very start of the fantasy level). The Nerd's death screen even offers up one of his gross, profanity-laden phrases, and even though it's a bit overused after hundreds of deaths, it captures the spirit of The Nerd well.
AVGN Adventures is as retro-inspired as you can get and no better example is the presentation. Ripped right from the 8-bit era, the sprites of The Nerd, his crew, the world and the enemies are all perfectly reminiscent of the NES days. The animations are recognizable (including The Nerd's static animation of him giving the player the finger). Surprisingly, the frame rate never suffers from the chaos appearing on screen. Projectiles fly without lag, enemies have no inconvenient stutter, all while the game offers a blitzkrieg of colorful animations. Beyond the amazingly diverse and hilariously referential landscapes, the graphics are complimented by some fantastic retro-inspired music. The themes for each level aren't just similar to the games the levels parody; they can stand on their own as catchy throwbacks to the 8-bit era. The pixelated effects echo with more blips and bloops than a Daft Punk record and every tone brings back that sense of whimsy that the NES brought for us as kids. AVGN Adventures clearly has retro gaming on a pedestal and that sense of reverence and respect comes alive in the game's presentation.
The game itself takes cues from 8-bit legends like Mario and Megaman, with platforming and side-scrolling shooting being the main parts of the gameplay. As The Nerd, you can jump, duck, and shoot in eight directions (both from a stationary position and while moving). You can also use special power-ups with the Y button, many of which take cues from AVGN episodes like the Glitch Gremlin (which stops time with glitches, making enemies freeze) or Super Mecha Death Christ (which destroys any enemy on screen). This straightforward approach to gaming isn't anything particularly innovative or new, but it does keep those fundamentals front and center, all while polishing them with responsive controls. The Nerd can also enlist help from his fellow characters like Kyle "Guitar Guy" Justin and Mike Matei (when you find and unlock them), with each having unique abilities. For example, Guitar Guy doesn't jump as high as The Nerd, but his guitar riff projectiles can bypass walls and oscillate in motion instead of being straight shots. Mike has no projectiles, but can detect secret walls and attack with his lightsaber. You can switch characters instantly, but there aren't many times where switching them proved especially advantageous to completing a stage. You can use them, but they are in no way necessary.
As you might expect, AVGN Adventures is difficult. Even on Normal (where you get three beers as health, 30 lives and unlimited continues), the game is a significant challenge. Losing all lives moves the player to the beginning of the level instead of convenient Nintoaster checkpoints, so there is a sense of reasonability to the difficulty. However, the game has a number of design problems that make the game less difficult and more just plain frustrating. The most noticeable one is the inclusion of instant death blocks, where simply touching one from any angle causes you to lose a life. For the sake of difficulty, they aren't a bad inclusion, but certain levels abuse them and break the momentum you'd expect from a retro action game. The last two worlds in particular have a huge number of these blocks, many of them on special platforms where they don't appear until you are very close to them. This makes the last two worlds frustrating to the point of unfairness; there is simply no possible way to see them coming first try. By forcing the player to slow down and wait for the hazards to appear before avoiding them, the fast, speed-run-driven action is lost. They're a wrench that wedges itself awkwardly into this otherwise smooth machine.
Another design issue is the lack of variety. AVGN Adventures sticks to its guns (no pun intended) throughout a significant majority of its story. You will almost always be blasting enemies and jumping gaps, with very few reasons to divert from that moveset. You can find hidden secrets like cameos from other gaming culture personalities and extra lives, and on occasion you'll take to the skies, shmup-style, on a silver surfboard or fire shark, but these moments are extremely short and infrequent. The challenges also tend to repeat themselves in the different levels; you'll very rarely find a hazard or enemy that feels fresh. Is that bad? Not necessarily, as the core gameplay is very well constructed, but with such incredible source material backing it up, there had to have been some room for experimentation outside of the running and gunning. Bosses break up the monotony well, but very few offer creative methods to complete their challenges. It's all about reflexes, and once again, while that isn't bad, it feels like a wasted opportunity.
The game costs $15 US on Steam, which is rather steep considering that the game is only nine main worlds. None of the levels are particularly long either, even if you search for secrets; you'll only get a few hours out of the main story on AVGN Adventures. The unlockable difficulty levels border on sadistic, as the already challenging Normal difficulty is likely to keep you on your toes. None of the secrets are worth going through Hell and back (literally), but if you're up for a challenge that will kick you in the balls over and over again, AVGN Adventures will deliver it. Don't say I didn't warn you, though.
As a tribute to James Rolfe's legendary series, AVGN Adventures does a lot of things right. Its references feel tuned to the wacky, borderline scatological humor The Nerd has brought for years now, while also cleverly poking fun at retro gaming tropes in general. But despite its funniness, the design leaves something to be desired. The levels have a number of infuriating quirks that can bring you to smash your controller; instant death blocks aren't a terrible idea, but only when they are reasonably integrated into the levels' designs. AVGN Adventures crosses the line between challenging and cheap more times than it should. Its challenge is also a downside for the value, as $15 is steep, especially for a short game with extremely intimidating difficulties. If you've been a long-time fan of The Nerd and can put up with some annoying level design, AVGN Adventures is worth a go. It's a funny game with some tight controls and solid retro sensibilities; however, whether or not that retro vibe is your cup of tea will likely determine how much fun you'll have with AVGN Adventures.